Saving Beast Boy
by Alexz Recoro
Summary: Beast Boy is finding it harder and harder to control the beast, and it scares him. Can Raven help him learn to contain it before he leaves the Teen Titans, and the world of the living?
1. The Beast Is Released

Title: Saving Beast Boy

Author: Alexz Recoro

Summary: Beast Boy is finding it harder and harder to control the beast, and it scares him. Can Raven help him learn to contain it before he leaves the Teen Titans, and the world of the living?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

Feedback: Please read and review. NO FLAMES!

CHAPTER ONE

"Beast Boy!" Raven yelled as he slammed into the pavement at her feet. "Are you all right?" The Teen Titans were fighting yet another monster in the streets of Jump City. Beast Boy had been in his pterodactyl form, hovering over the monster, trying to get close enough to inflict some damage, when one of the monsters many limbs had slammed into him, throwing him through the air and face first into the pavement less than a foot in front of Raven. The shape shifter slowly morphed back into his natural state and looked up at Raven.

"I'm fine." He told the young psychic. He grinned, but Raven saw that he was in pain.

"You're hurt." She accused, kneeling next to him, while keeping one eye on the monster, who was currently facing away from them, distracted by the rest of the team.

"No, I'm not." He protested.

"Yes you are. I can sense it. Where do you hurt?"

"Nowhere!" Beast Boy protested, trying to sit up. But when he put weight on his right arm, his green face went white and he fell back down. "Fine." He admitted under Raven's smug glare. "My arm hurts. But it only hurts a little! I just landed on it wrong, that's all . . . what are you doing?"

While he had been protesting, Raven had simply reached across his chest and taken a hold of his right arm. Now she was holding it in one hand and running the other slowly up and down the injured member.

"Beast Boy, I think your arm is broken." She told the changeling gently.

"What? No, it's not." Beast Boy argued, trying to pull his arm free of Raven's grip without jarring it too badly. Raven tightened her grip and pulled very gently on the arm. It sent a white-hot wave of pain through Beast Boy's brain, and he had to bit his lip, hard, hard enough to draw blood, to keep from screaming.

"See." Raven glanced at the monster, then bent her head over Beast Boy's arm, closed her eyes and began to chant.

"What are you doing?" Beast Boy demanded. Raven sighed at the interruption and looked at him.

"I'm healing your arm psychicly." She explained patiently.

"NO!" Beast Boy protested, once again trying to pull his arm free. But Raven held on. "Raven, you can't waste energy on me right now, the others need you."

"Shut up Beast Boy." Raven muttered, surrounding his arm in her black psychic energy, so that he couldn't move. As Raven began to chant, Beast Boy felt his arm start to get warmer, starting at his finger tips. As the warmth spread, the pain began to go away. Beast Boy closed his eyes and sighed, then opened them to say something. But what he saw instead made his heart stop and then start pounding in terror.

"Raven!" He yelled. The girl stopped chanting and looked up at him.

"Look . . ." Was all he got out as the one of the monster's flailing limbs slammed into her back. Beast Boy barely had time to see her eyes go wide in pain and shock before she was thrown clean over his head and through the plate glass window of a store behind him.

"Raven!" Beast Boy screamed, scrambling to his feet, his arm hanging uselessly and painfully at his side. It seemed Raven's hadn't been able to finish healing it. "Raven!" He screamed again, stumbling toward her, trying to ignore the pain in his arm. Raven wasn't moving. She lay unconscious in the middle of a million broken pieces of glass, blood oozing from various wounds. The smell of it reached Beast Boy's over sensitive nostrils and sent his head reeling, and his stomach tried desperately to climb up his throat.

"Raven!" He screamed once more, still trying to reach her. But his vison was turning red, and then black . . .

. . . and the next thing he knew, he was standing halfway down the street, Raven in his arms, her slight weight agony for the injured limb.

"What?" He questioned, looking around. What was going on? Why didn't he remember picking up Raven and carrying her down the street? And where, he wondered suddenly, was the monster? The street was silent, when only moments ago it had been full of roaring and the sounds of a fight. And what was that smell? Beast Boy turned to look for the monster, and the source of the smell, and barely had time to put Raven down before he was violently sick.

The monster was in pieces that littered the street. It had been literally torn into pieces. The muscles and bloodshone black in the street lamps. Beast Boy had never seen anything so horrible. Nothing deserved to be ripped into pieces and be thrown around a street. Then he looked down at his hands and realized they were covered in blood up to his elbows. The horrible smell was coming from them, and matched the smell that hung over what was left on the monster. Beast Boy fell to his knees and vomited again and again, retching until there was nothing left to come out. _He _had done this! _He_was the monster who had torn that thing limb from limb and thrown it around the street! Why couldn't he _remember_? What had _happened_?

He looked up and noticed the rest of the team staring at him with wide eyes and scared looks on their faces. It was the looks on their faces which confirmed it for him. He had turned into the Beast again. That dark part of him that he couldn't control, and that he could never remember being had once again burst out of him with murderous rage and intent. Beast Boy closed his eyes and hung his head, feeling sick once more, but with nothing in his stomach to purge. He had taken a life, something he swore he would never do. He didn't even eat meat or any animal products. Yet he had killed something, and had taken great delight in doing so.

Raven regained consciousness just then, shaking her head and moaning as she did so. The first thing she saw was Beast Boy, on his knees in the middle of the street, his face white, his eyes as big as silver dollars. He was staring blankly ahead of him, shaking.

"Beast Boy?" Raven asked, sitting up and getting painfully to her feet. "What's wrong? Beast Boy? Are you okay?" She stumbled over to him, falling painfully at his side. She touched his shoulder, but he didn't look at her. Just continued staring blankly ahead. No, that's not quite right, she corrected herself. He wasn't staring straight ahead, he was staring at his hands.

"Beast Boy?" She tried again. Then she got a look at his hands. There was something . . . wrong . . . with them. They looked black up to his elbows. Raven leaned closer, then reeled back in horror. Beast Boy's arms were covered with blood! She looked around the street, and for the first time saw the remains of the monsters. Or more accurately, the pieces of the monster. Raven stared at them in horror. Had Beast Boy done this? One look at her other teammates, who were still frozen in shock and horror, confirmed her suspicion. The beast had taken over Beast Boy's body and mind once again and this had been the result. Ravens' heart ached for her green teammate. Beast Boy was such a gentle and fun loving soul. To have this other side of him that was possible of such violence must have been a nightmare for him.

"Beast Boy!" Raven yelled, shacking the changeling. He still didn't look at her, and Raven was afraid he had gone into shock. "Beast Boy!" She screamed again, shacking him harder. Beast Boy still didn't move, but a single tears slid down his check. With that one tear, the dam broke, and suddenly Beast Boy was sobbing hysterically. To Raven's surprise he collapsed on her lab, his shoulders heaving with his sobs. Then the rest of the Teen Titans watched with wide eyes as Raven put her arms around her teammate and started comforting him.

AN: Can anyone tell me what Beast Boy's real name is, or anything about his past? I need if for the next Chapter. If no one can, that's fine, I'll just make something up, but I really like to be as accurate as possible. So if anyone knows this, just leave it in a review. I'd really appreciate it.


	2. Inside His Mind

CHAPTER TWO

"Put him on this bed." Robin directed Cyborg. Cyborg gently laid his green skinned teammate down on a bed in the med. bay, then stepped back to preform a med. scan. After a moment he looked up at them and sighed.

"His DNA is still normal. It hasn't started shifting again. I think that now that the Beast has been unlocked, it's always going to be there."

"Other than that, how is he?" Robin asked.

"Physically, he's fine except for a broken arm. But mentally . . . " He trailed off then shrugged. "Well, we won't know till he wakes up."

"Why is he still asleep?" Raven asked suddenly. Cyborg shrugged.

"He's been through a lot. His body finally ran out of steam. He's sleeping to try and regain strength and heal. He'll be fine in the morning."

Robin nodded, obviously relieved. "The rest of us should get some sleep too." He told his team. They all nodded and followed him from the room, except Raven, who moved to sit by Beast Boy's bed.

"Raven? Aren't you coming?" Robin asked, stopping in the doorway. Raven shook her head.

"No. You guys go ahead. I'll stay with him."

"Are you sure?" Robin asked. The purple haired Goth nodded her head without looking at Robin.

"Yes. I'm going to sit and try some meditation, see if it helps."

"For you or Beast Boy?"

"Both." Raven said with the barest ghost of a smile. Robin nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

Raven sat quietly, gathering her thoughts and her strength, then reached out and touched Beast Boy's arm. She quietly began to chant, and she and Beast Boy were both encased in her black psychic energy and began to float. Raven closed her eyes and reached out for Beast Boy with her mind, going slowly and gently, making sure to use the barest touches of her mind. She had never done this to Beast Boy, and she didn't want to scare him. If she startled him into retreating from her psychic probe, she might hurt him, permanently. If she did that, she would never forgive herself.

So she reached out to him gently, sending out soothing waves, like she would if she was extending her hand to a frightened and injured animal. Finally, she sensed Beast Boy's mind relax, and she was in.

It was nothing like she would have ever expected. The Beast Boy she knew was so light hearted and fun loving, always ready to crack a joke, pull a prank, go dancing, or spend time with anyone, doing anything. But the inside of his mind was nothing like that. It was dark and lonely. Raven almost retreated back into her mind when she felt the sadness and pain coming from Beast Boy's, but forced herself to calm down. If she pulled back to fast, she might injure Beast Boy. Raven didn't know if it was the recent development brought on by the emergence of the beast, but she doubted it. It felt too . . . old. The feelings of loneliness, sadness and pain felt too powerful, too deep to be a recent development. Raven suddenly felt very guilty. She could have been a little nicer to Beast Boy, at least pretended to find his jokes amusing, or not put him down so much. He had never seemed to mind, had always bounced back with another joke, or insulted her back. But Raven knew exactly what it was like to have a facade, to be pretending to feel something when the feelings beneath were completely different then what was on the surface. How could she have not seen it?

Just then, she heard someone sobbing somewhere nearby. Looking around, Raven saw Beast Boy curled up in a ball and shaking violently. A loud roar suddenly echoed all around, causing him to curl up even tighter, if that was possible.

"Oh please . . . somebody help me . . . don't let it get me . . . I wanna go home . . . " Beast Boy sobbed. Ravens' heart nearly shattered at the sight of her teammate crying piteously, his clothing in bloody tatters and covered from head to toe in deep scratches and other wounds, all of them bleeding. Raven was the veteran of enough mental battle herself to know that the wounds weren't on Beast Boy's body, but on his mental image, a result of his mental battle with the beast. A battle he had lost.

"B-Beast Boy?" Raven asked, unable to hide the waver in her voice as she stepped closer to him. Beast Boys head snapped up and looked at her with eyes wide in terror and scurried several feet away.

"Beast Boy? It's okay, it's me. It's Raven." Raven tried to approach him, but another loud, seemingly closer, roar caused Beast Boy to curl back up into a ball and put his hands tightly over his ears.

"NO! Please don't let it take me! Somebody, help me! Please . . . anybody . . . help me!" Beast Boy sobbed desperately. Raven tried to approaching Beast Boy again when a soft white glow started forming near him. Raven froze and stood mesmerized as a pretty woman, glowing white like an angel, formed and then knelt down next to Beast Boy and placed a hand upon his head. After a moment she pulled him up to her and began to rock the teenage boy like he was a small child once again. Raven realized with a start that Beast Boy _did_ look younger than she ever remembered him being. Then she felt her eyes fill with tears when she realized why. In his terror and pain from the beast, Beast Boy had retreated mentally into the body of a young boy.

"Shh . . . it's okay. I won't let it take you. You're safe here with me. I'll protect you. Shh . . . I won't ever let it have you. I'll always protect you." The woman whispered.

To accentuate her point another roar echoed throughout, but this time softer and seemingly further away. Studying her, Raven guessed that she looked to be about twenty-five, and seemed vaguely familiar. Her voice, her face, her eyes, and that long hair . . . where did she know her from? Raven continued to watch, feeling like an intruder but unable to look away. Ignoring her own tears, the woman tried to wipe his away.

"Shh, it's okay." She whispered again, stroking his hair gently. Beast Boy uncurled just enough to wrap his arms around her in a vise like grip. The lady began to sing softly while she continued to gently rock him.

_Lay down_

_Your sweet and weary head_

_Night is falling_

_You have come to journey's end_

_Sleep now_

_Dream-of the ones who came before_

_They are calling_

_From across a distant shore_

_Why do you weep? _

_What are these tears upon your face?_

_Soon you will see_

_All of your fears will pass away_

_Safe in my arms_

_You're only sleeping_

_What can you see_

_On the horizon?_

_Why do the white gulls cry_

_Across the seas_

_A pale moon rises_

_The ships have come _

_To carry you home_

_And all will turn to silver glass_

_A light on the water_

_All souls pass_

While singing, Beast Boy's mother began to pass her fingers gently across his innumerable scratches and other wounds, leaving smooth unbroken skin in their wake. Raven continued to watch as her soft gentle voice and soothing caresses calmed Beast Boy, bringing an end to his tears and loosening his hold. The roars were now faint and far way, and Beast Boy had fallen asleep in her arms. Smiling, Beast Boy's mother continued to sing to him softly.

_Hope fades_

_Into the world of night_

_Through shadows falling_

_Out of memory and time_

_Don't say_

_We have come now to the end_

_White shores are calling_

_You and I will meet again_

_And you'll be here in my arms_

_Just sleeping_

_What can you see_

_On the horizon?_

_Why do the white gulls call?_

_Across the sea_

_A pale moon rises_

_The ships have come_

_To carry you home_

_And all will turn to silver glass_

_A light on the water_

_Grey ships pass_

_Into the West_

Beast Boy's mother finished singing and kissed her son's forehead once more.

"Whenever the beast comes for you, you will always find it safe here and remember nothing of your fear and pain." She whispered, gently setting him down and caressing his cheek. "May my love protect you here always my son. Just like your love shelters and holds me close."

Raven started at that. His mother? The healing spirit was Beast Boy's _mother? _Suddenly, she knew why Beast Boy had reverted to a younger form in his mind. He had been so scared and in so much pain that he had automatically gone back to a simpler time, when he was younger, and his mother was always there to soothe his pain away and make his forget his fear.

She looked up at Raven and smiled. "He needs your help too Raven. You may be the only one who will be able to help him, now that I have to go."

"Go? Go where?" Raven asked in panic. Without his mother's healing touch and song, how could Beast Boy survive another encounter with the beast? "And how do you know who I am?" She asked suspiciously. The woman laughed gently. "My son thinks very highly of you. I can only come here to help and heal him until he could find someone else who could help him in the physical world as well as here in his mind. You are that person Raven. He trusts you and respects you. You have the power to help and heal him."

She gently crossed to Raven and gave the surprised young Goth psychic a warm hug. Then she gently kissed Raven on the forehead. When she pulled away, Raven was surprised to find she now knew the song that she had used to heal Beast Boy.

"It's an old family song, used to heal wounds of the mind and spirit." Beast Boy's mother said softly. She smiled and left Raven to kneel at Beast Boy's side once more. She cupped his cheek in her hand and smiled at him.

"It's time for me to go my son. Your friend will protect and heal you now. Please be careful my love, my darling Garfield."

Raven watched in a mixture of awe and wonder when she then disappeared in a bright flash of white that spread outwards into the darkness, erasing most of the, but not all of the pain. But she had healed so much that Raven and Beast Boy were now in the middle of a brilliant, peaceful green meadow. The roars of the beast were silent now, replaced with the sounds of a nearby bubbling brook and singing birds in a bright blue sky. It looked just like the park, where Beast Boy loved to hang out with the rest of the Teen Titans. All though she had enjoyed the outings in her own way, Raven had never understood why Beast Boy loved the park so much. Now she did. The park was a physical manifestation of his calm mental state after a healing visit from his mother, which he never remembered.

Raven finally allowed a very small smile to cross her face as she crossed to Beast Boy's side. Kneeling, she took the mental form of the young Beast Boy and pulled him into her lap. Holding the young boy close, Raven bent over him and slowly began to sing as she drew herself and Beast Boy back to consciousness, using the song as Beast Boy's anchor to draw him along and keep him from being too scared.

Raven returned to consciousness first, and discovered, to her surprise, that her physical body had mimicked what her mental representation had done, joining Beast Boy on the bed and cradling him close. Beast Boy was now sleeping peacefully, his mental wounds soothed for now. Raven felt herself giving him a small smile before exhaustion took over and she fell asleep with Beast Boy still cradled in her arms.

**_Authors Note:_** For anyone who's wondering, the song Beast Boy's mother sings to him is 'Into The West' by Annie Lennox from The Return of the King soundtrack.


	3. The Morning After

CHAPTER THREE

Robin and Starfire were the first to enter the med. bay the next morning. But Robin had to quickly slap a hand over Starfire's mouth and drag her back out into the hallway to keep her from awakening the two sleeping figures on the bed. Once he had made Starfire understand the need for silence, Robin allowed her to peek her head into the room with him. But he made sure he was in a position that would make it easy for him to grab her if she so much as squeaked.

What they saw was so surprising to the two Teen Titans that they almost fell over. Beast Boy and Raven were curled up on the bed. Beast Boy's back was against Raven's chest, and she had her arm tightly around his waist, almost like she was protecting him. Her cape was flung back, and her hood had slipped down, revealing her face. Robin suddenly realized that he had never seen Raven that relaxed. He had seen her asleep, she had fallen asleep on the Teen Titan couch one night. But even then she had seemed tense and guarded. Laying there with Beast Boy, Raven was at peace. Beast Boy stirred slightly, and Raven's grip tightened on him instinctively. Sensing that neither of them would be pleased with an audience, Robin grabbed Starfire around the waist and dragged her off to the kitchen.

Inside the med. bay, Raven and Beast Boy both woke up at the same time. Beast Boy looked around in confusion, then yelped when he turned and found Raven and he sharing a bed.

"Raven! Are you all right?" He asked anxiously. Raven nodded and stretched, pulling her hood back up as she did so.

"I'm okay. It's you I'm worried about." She said truthfully. Beast Boy looked at her, startled, but her hood was hiding her face and he was unable to tell if she was serious or being sarcastic again.

"I'm fine." He snapped, deciding that it had to be sarcastic. He swung his legs over the bed and tried to stand up. But he swayed and would have fallen if Raven hadn't jumped forward and caught him. But he was a little heavier than she expected and they ended up sprawled across the bed, Beast Boy on top of Raven.

"Knock it off." Raven ordered, wiggling out from under him. "Your hurt. Lay still."

"I'm fine." Beast Boy insisted. But he did stay down. His head hurt like crazy and the room was hanging at a weird angle.

"The Beast got out again." Raven told him bluntly. Beast Boy looked stunned for a moment, then turned away with tears in his eyes.

"I know." He muttered.

"It wasn't your fault Beast Boy." Raven told him, sitting down and putting a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have any training in controlling it, you didn't even know it was there until those chemicals messed with your DNA and unleashed it."

"Yeah, but what am I supposed to do now?!" Beast Boy yelled, sitting up so suddenly that he almost threw Raven off the bed. "Do you know how horrible it is to have it lurking just under the surface now? To feel it in my brain, laughing at me, just waiting for a moment of weakness so it can force it's way out?"

"Yes. I do." Raven said softly. Beast Boy looked up and blushed slightly.

"Yeah, I guess you do." Beast Boy muttered. "Your probably the only person who does." He hugged his knees to his chest, or at least tried to. But when he moved his right arm he winced in pain. Raven noticed and moved to his side.

"I guess I never did take care of that arm, did I?" She asked, reaching out for it. After all, she had promised Beast Boy's mother that she would take care of him. This time, Beast Boy let her hold his arm in her hands. When she finished, Beast Boy smiled at her.

"Thanks."

"Your welcome."

Raven and Beast Boy sat in silence for a moment. Then Beast Boy sighed and fell back on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"How long do I have to stay in here?"

"I have no idea." Raven told him truthfully. "But Cyborg will probably want you to stay here for a few days. He'll want to find out why the Beast is back."

"Great." Beast Boy said disgustedly. He looked at Raven out of the corner of his eye. "Umm, Ra?"

"Don't call me Ra." Raven said automatically, then sighed at the pleading look on Beast Boy's face. "What?"

"It's probably silly, but. . ."

"Just tell me."

"Could you go and get something from my room?"

"Why can't you go get it?" Raven asked by reflex.

"Because I think the Tower is tilted about twenty degrees to the right." He replied. Raven flinched under her hood. After everything he had gone through last night, his body was still recuperating. He shouldn't be walking anywhere. The least she could do was go get something for him.

"I guess. What do you want?"

"In the drawer in my night stand there's a picture in a black frame. That's the all I want."

"All right." Raven slid off the bed and left the med bay.

She took the stairs, instinctively avoiding everyone. She had no desire to answer questions about why she had stayed with Beast Boy last night. The truth was, she had swore she would be nicer to Beast Boy ever since the Beast first burst out. She had never seen him as devastated as he was when he thought he had hurt her. He had avoided her for days, convinced that if he stayed away, the Beast couldn't hurt her. Raven had finally cornered him in his room and convinced him that he had been protecting her, he hadn't hurt her. He had attacked the other Titans because he hadn't been himself and had thought they were a threat to Raven. Since then Raven had been nicer to him, sitting with him quietly on the roof or down at the beach. She hoped she could help him with the Beast.

Raven shook her head when she realized she had passed the door to Beast Boy's room. She backtracked and opened his door, smiling inwardly at his room. It was messy and cluttered, but was also bright and airy. It fit him perfectly. Raven floated over to his night stand and opened the single drawer. The only thing in it was a picture in a black frame. She picked it up and almost dropped it when she saw the picture. In it was the woman she had seen in Beast Boy's mind, his mother. She and a man who must have been Beast Boy's father were both kneeling behind a young Beast Boy, a Beast Boy who wasn't green! The young boy was beaming at the camera, on his knees next to a small tiger cub. The cub had rolled over on it's back and was looking up at Beast Boy adoringly. Beast Boy had his small hand on the cub's stomach.

And taped to the corner, stuck under the frame, was a picture of her. She had no idea when it had been taken, but it could have been any time. She was floating, legs crossed, eyes closed, hood down, meditating. He had trimmed it down from a regular picture, and then taped it the frame of his parents picture. She wondered if he remembered doing that. Probably not, she realized. If he had, he wouldn't have asked her to get it for him. Raven smiled at made her way back down to the med. bay.

Beast Boy smiled when she came back into the room. Without a word, she handed him the picture. Beast Boy froze when he saw the picture of Raven taped to it, but when Raven didn't say anything he decided that she must not mind.

"Thanks." He said, holding the picture on his lap. He smiled down at it, touching the face of his mother through the glass.

"Is that you and your parents?" Raven asked quietly.

"Yeah." Beast Boy said with a grin. "They were the greatest. How many parents do you know would take their toddler son to Africa with them, or let him grow up playing with baby animals?"

"You grew up in Africa?" Raven asked in surprise.

"Yeah." Beast Boy smiled, still looking at the picture.

"I noticed you weren't green." Raven said bluntly. Beast Boy looked up, startled, then let out a short bark of laughter.

"Yeah. This was taken right before I got sick."

"What?"


	4. Titan Alert!

CHAPTER FOUR

Beast Boy grinned at Raven's surprise. "Yeah. I wasn't always green ya know. It's just a side affect."

"A side affect of what?" Raven asked.

"My parents were biologists that took me to Africa with them. We lived in Upper Lamumba where they were researching genetic codes. I got really, really sick with a rare disease that only animals could survive. My dad was so desperate to save me, that he treated with an untested machine which he originally developed to isolate the common genetic bond shared between humans and animals. I got better, but as a side affect my skin turned green."

"When did they find out you could turn into animals?" Raven asked.

"It was a few years later. My mom and I went for a walk, and she was threatened by a Black Mamba snake. I was so scared and so desperate to save her that it awakened my powers and I turned in a mongoose."

"What happened then?" Raven asked. "Where are they? Are they still in Africa?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Beast Boy muttered, looking away.

"I was just wondering. You never talk about them." Raven said softly.

"That's because their dead." Beast Boy said bluntly, putting the picture on his night stand and laying back down, turning his back on Raven.

"What? Oh, Garfield, I'm sorry." Raven told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. She felt him stiffen and didn't understand why.

"How did you know my name?" He asked in a low voice.

"Your mother told me." Raven told him truthfully, mentally kicking herself.

"What?" Garfield rolled over and looked at her through wide eyes. "My mother's dead Raven."

"I know, but she's still with you." Raven said, reaching out and touching Garfield's chest with one finger, right over his heart.

"How do you know that?" Garfield was still staring at her. Raven sighed and wished she was anywhere but here.

"I did some meditation with you last night while you were passed out, to try and help you and. . ."

"And while you were in my head, you met my mother." Garfield finished.

"Yeah." Raven admitted. "I think she liked me. She also said that you, um, that you. . ."

"What?" Garfield asked, rasing an eyebrow. Raven blushed under her hood, then punched Garfield's shoulder.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?" Garfield protested, his eyebrow shooting even higher and a grin starting to crawl across his face.

"Stop laughing at me." Raven ordered.

"I'm not laughing at you." Garfield said, his grin getting even bigger.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Knock it off."

"I'm not laughing at. . . you." Garfield lost the battle with himself and started laughing hysterically, doubling up on the bed and grabbing his sides.

Raven floated up off the bed and hovered with her back to him.

"I'm . . . sorry." Garfield gasped out. "But I've never seen you so flustered."

"Garfield!"

"Sorry. . ."

"GARFIELD!" One of his pillows started to glow black and float.

"I'm stopping. See, I stopped." Garfield sat up and grabbed his pillow out of the air and put it behind his back. "I'm sorry, I've stopped." He patted the mattress next to him. "Come on, sit back down. Oh, and call me Gar." He grinned at her back. Raven sighed, then floated over and sat at Gar's feet.

"Now come on." He coaxed. "What did my mother tell you?"

"She told me that you think very highly of me."

Gar looked at her in confusion. "Well, that's true enough. Why would that surprise you Raven?"

"I didn't. . . didn't think you liked me." Raven said in a very small voice, wishing she could disappear farther into her hood.

"I do like you Raven, I told you that that one time me and Cyborg went into your mind and helped you fight your dad, remember." Gar wiggled, trying to get comfortable, but with Raven sitting at the foot of his bed, there was really no way for him to stretch out. Not really noticing what she was doing, Raven picked up Gar's feet and let him rest them in her lap so he could stretch out. They sat in comfortable silence for a long moment, then Raven reached up and pushed her hood down. Gar smiled to himself, but it disappeared when Raven turned her head to look at him.

"How did you parents die?" Raven asked quietly. Gar sighed and put his hand behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

"It was a few years after I first transformed. My parents took me out on a boating trip. I was being a complete brat, whining about how I didn't want to go, and how this was lame and stupid and I wanted to stay in the village with my friends. My dad was so busy arguing with me, he didn't notice the sandbank until. . ." He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. "Until it was too late. When we hit the sandbank, I was standing near my mother. She and I were thrown up into the air. I was able to transform into a bird to save myself, but I couldn't get to my mother in time. Her and my dad both died, my mom from the fall, my dad in the explosion after the crash." He opened his eyes and Raven saw the tears filling them. "It was my fault Raven. If I hadn't be arguing or whining, my dad would have been paying attention."

Raven reached up and brushed away Gar's tears. "It wasn't your fault, you were just a little kid. And I know your mother doesn't blame you, I've seen her. She's the only thing that kept your mind from shattering when you lost to the beast." She paused. "Gar, was your mother some sort of spiritualist?"

"Yeah. My father used to tease her that she was the only spiritual biologist in Africa. She really believed in the importance of keeping your soul in shape as well as your body and mind. Why?"

"Just wondering. The way she was able to help you signifies that she had some spiritual knowledge." Raven noticed that her hand was still resting on Gar's cheek and she yanked her hand back, fighting a blush. Gar also blushed, but then his brow furrowed.

"Why don't I remember my mother helping me?"

"It was to protect your mind. She only came to you when you were in so much pain or so frightened that you had literally retreated into your mind, trying to get away. When I saw her, she sang to you and healed your wounds, then you fell asleep."

"Oh." Gar and Raven were silent once again. Then Raven thought of something.

"What happened after your parents died? You were still young. How did you survive?"

"I was taken in by King Tawava, a friend of my parents and the chief of the tribe we had been living with. I really liked him. He was one of the kindest men I've ever met. He loved me and treated me like a son, and his real son, the prince, was one of my best friends. We were like brothers." He paused, smiling at the memory.

"But how did you get to America?" Raven questioned.

"The tribe's witch doctor, Mobu, hated me and my parents. He hated us so much that her arranged for two American mercenaries to kill me. In exchange, Mobu would reveal the whereabouts of a temple containing a treasure. The temple collapsed and killed Mobu, but the two American's kidnaped me and took me to America, where they forced me to commit crimes for them. Eventually they killed each other, and the courts appointed my parents lawyer, Nicholas Galtry, to be my guardian. But he wasn't much of one. When I had been missing, right after my parents died, Galtry started embezzling funds out of my inheritance. When I was found, he wanted to kill me. But I managed to get away from him and joined the Titans."

Gar lay in silence once he finished, then looked at Raven. "Hey, Ra?"

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry."

"Forget it. What?"

"Do you. . . do you remember the song my mom sang to me?" Gar looked down and started playing with the hem of his blanket. "There was one song she used to sing to me every night, but it's been so long that I don't really remember it anymore."

Raven nodded, and opened her mouth to tell Garfield that she did know the song, when both her and Gar's communicators started beeping.

"Titan alert!" Gar yelled, trying to sit up.

"Stop right there." Raven ordered. "You are staying here. We can handle it. Your not going anywhere until you finish resting. Now lay down." She glared at him, and he reluctantly lay back down.

"Will you come see me when you get back?" He asked in a little boy voice. Raven allowed a small smile to cross her face.

"Yes, I promise. Now get some sleep." She left the room, turning out the light as she went.


	5. Let Me Out!

CHAPTER FIVE

Raven left the med bay, pulling up her hood as she went. She met the rest of the Titans in the living room.

"Where's Beast Boy?" Robin asked. "Is he still asleep?"

"No, he's awake."

"Well, then where is he?" Robin demanded.

"He needs to rest!" Raven snapped, surprising everyone, even herself. "He's been through a lot and his body hasn't had time to recover yet." She continued in a gentler tone.

"Okay, Raven, okay." Robin said soothingly, holding up his hands in a surrender position.

"Sorry." Raven muttered. "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I'm a little on edge."

"Don't worry about it." Robin said, dismissing the incident with a wave of his hand, then instantly snapping back into leadership mode. "Let's move it Titans!"

The four Titans followed the sounds of destruction in their usual fashion. Robin rode his motorcycle, Starfire and Raven flew, and Cyborg drove his car. Raven shook her head when she saw yet another monster wreaking havoc on the streets of Jump City.

"What's with all the monsters?" Raven asked, touching her communicator to transmit her question to the rest of her teammates.

"I don't like this." Robin said grimly.

"There's way to many monsters lately." Cyborg agreed.

"Yeah, and I'm stuck at home, missing all the fun." Beast Boy pouted.

Raven almost fell out of the sky when she heard his voice. "Beast Boy!" She practically roared.

"What?"

"Your supposed to be resting!"

"I am resting! I'm laying down and everything." Beast Boy protested.

"Your supposed to sleeping." Raven reminded him.

"Oh come on! If I can't go into battle, I at least have to be able to hear what's going on! I'll be quiet, I promise." Beast Boy pleaded.

"Fine. But one more word from you. . ."

"One more word from either of you and I'm doubling your training time." Robin interrupted. Raven and Beast Boy both shut up, Raven blushing bright red under her hood. She had to stop thinking about Beast Boy, laying at home in the darkened med. bay, pouting. If she didn't get him out of her thoughts she'd never be able to concentrate on the battle.

"He's fine." Cyborg said quietly through the communicator. Raven smiled and shook her head. It still amazed her, even after all this time, how well the other Titans knew her. But right now she had to concentrate. Raven shook her head and focused on the battle, frowning when she got close enough to really see the monster.

"Didn't we fight this thing already?" She asked, dodging a flailing limb.

"Yeah, isn't this the thing that Beast Boy tore apart last night?" Cyborg asked. Raven stopped and glared at him, and Cyborg actually blushed. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"It's the same exact one." Robin said, dodging a strike. "What's going on here?"

"Who knows?" Raven jumped backwards, but tripped on a stone and fell hard on her butt, banging her elbows and getting the wind knocked out of her.

"Raven! Are you hurt?" Starfire yelled. Raven simply waved, unable to speak and blinking back tears from the sudden pain in her elbows.

"Raven?" Beast Boy's panicked voice was suddenly in her ear. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She managed to gasp out.

"You don't sound fine."

"Just got. . . the wind. . . knocked out. . . of me." She panted.

"Oh. Are you sure?"

"I'm fine." Raven said, having finally got her breath back.

"Okay." Beast Boy clicked off and Raven quickly took to the air to avoid another tentacle-thing, and frowned when she noticed something.

"Guys, this is the same thing from last night, but it's bigger!" Raven yelled down to them. Cyborg paused while his mechanical eye scanned the monster, then nodded.

"Raven's right! This thing is genetically identical to the one we fought last night, only bigger!"

"How can it be the same one?" Robin asked, using his bo staff to stop a tentacle from hitting him. "That ones dead, it has to be!"

"I have a very bad feeling about this." Starfire told Raven.

"So do I, Star, so do I." Raven muttered, using a psychic shield to stop a tentacle from impaling her. Starfire's eyes glowed green and she shot a bolt at the monster, but it just bounced off and barley missed Cyborg.

"Not only is it bigger, it's badder!" Cyborg yelled, grabbing a tentacle with his bare hands and holding it away from his body. But another tentacle slipped up behind him and knocked him off his feet. The two tried to grab him, but Cyborg had faster reflexes than the monster and he rolled out of range.

"It's smarter too." Robin grunted, preforming a back flip over a tentacle that had just tried to repeat the trick.

"I have a _really_ bad feeling about this." Starfire repeated, shooting blot after blot at the creature. But everyone just bounced off harmlessly and flew up into the air. Raven tried to surround it with her psychic energy and lift it, hoping it's weak spot was underneath, but the monster was just too heavy.

Raven frowned when she tested the weight. She had lifting thing bigger than this before, but this monster seemed to have simply to much _mass_. Raven could just feel the unnaturalness of it, and it alarmed her.

"There something wrong here!" Raven called to Cyborg.

"I can tell you three things that are wrong!" Cyborg yelled back. "This thing is big, it's ugly, and it's wreaking our city!"

"Exactly, it's big!" Raven yelled back.

"What?" Robin yelled, cartwheeling over one of the tentacles and coming to a stop near her. "What's up Raven?"

"There's something unnatural about this thing."

"Raven, monsters are unnatural by definition."

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Raven snapped back. "What I'm saying is. . ."

But she didn't get to finish.

Taking advantage of their distraction, the monster reared back and swung a tentacle full force at Robin's back. With instinct born from years of training, Robin threw himself to his knees. The tentacle soared over his head and slammed Raven in the stomach. Her eyes went wide, and all the breath left her lungs in a whoosh. Robin could only watch in horror as the unconscious Goth soared through the air and slammed into the side of one of the brick buildings lining the street.

"_RAVEN!"_ Robin screamed in horror. _"RAVEN!" _

"_RAVEN!" _Echoed Beast Boy's voice in Robin's ear. In the Tower just across town, Beast Boy was on his knees beside his bed in the darkened med. bay. He was doubled over in pain, trying to grab his ribs and his head at the same time. It felt that something was trying to rip his head open from the inside, while his heart tried to pound it's self out of his chest. He knew what it was. It was the Beast. The Beast inside of him was reacting to the knowledge that Raven was hurt and was trying to get out. It roared inside his head and with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, Beast Boy realized that he could understand what it was saying.

_Let me out!_

"No!" Beast Boy yelled back.

_Let me out!_

"No! You only want to cause pain!"

_Pain is good. Hurt who hurt Raven._

"No! Raven wouldn't want that!"

The Beast roared louder, and renewed its fight. It was so strong that Beast Boy fell onto his stomach, his nose beginning to bleed.

"NO! Stay in there!" Beast Boy yelled, writhing on the floor in pain. But he could feel his body weakening under the attack on his mind.

"NOOOO!" He screamed as his mind snapped and the Beast came roaring to the surface.

All the Teen Titans looked up when they heard a loud roar, and Robin's face paled.

"Uh oh." He whispered.


	6. Home

CHAPTER SIX

As another roar echoed over the city, the Titans could see a huge black shape running toward them.

"Scatter!" Robin barely had time to yell as the Beast rushed past them and tore into the monster with a vengeance. Blood, muscle and tissue flew everywhere. When he was finished, the monster was dead. But the Beast wasn't finished. He started sniffing around, moving through blood and body parts. Finally, the Beast found Raven's limp body laying at the foot of a building. He howled sadly and gently picked her up in his mouth. When he turned and saw the three remaining Titan's through, he growled and snarled at them.

"Stay back!" Robin warned Cyborg when he started to advance.

"What! Why! We can't just let that thing take Raven!" Cyborg argued.

"That _thing_ is our teammate!" Robin shot back. "And he won't hurt Raven, you know that! But he might hurt us if we try to take her and he thinks we pose a threat to her." He began to back away, hands held palm up and away from his body, drawing Starfire with him as he went. "Back up Cyborg." He ordered. Cyborg looked torn, but also began to back up, grumbling as he did so. The Beast continued to growl until he was satisfied they were a safe distance away from Raven, then with one leap it jumped onto the roof of a near by building and began to run away.

"Everyone in the T car!" Robin yelled. The remaining team piled into Cyborg's car, with Cyborg driving, Robin riding shot gun and Starfire in the back seat. "Follow it. But keep your distance, we don't want to spook it."

"Right." Cyborg nodded and pressed a button on his dash, revealing a locator beacon. "I'm homing in on Raven's communicator, like last time." He explained. Robin nodded and kept his eyes on the screen so Cyborg could drive.

"Robin, why is Beast Boy changing?" Starfire asked. Robin frowned, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Left Cyborg." He directed, then glanced over his shoulder at Starfire for a second before looking back at the screen. "I'm not sure. The first time it was because those chemicals unleashed it, and Beast Boy was forced to turn into the Beast when he and Raven were in danger. But now, I think he keeps transforming against his will because he doesn't understand his own transformation yet. When he transformed to save Raven, it was instinct. Something inside himself, something primal, reacted to Raven being in danger. He doesn't trust any of us because we attacked him when he was in Beast form and the instincts of the Beast tell him that we can't be trusted."

"But Beast Boy trusts us." Cyborg protested.

"You need to turn right up here. I know that." Robin continued. "But Beast Boy isn't in charge right now, the Beast is. Turn left." Robin didn't take his eyes off the screen, but Cyborg still felt like their leader was glaring at him.

Up ahead, the Beast flew past windows and over streets, Raven still hanging from his jaws, as helpless and as safe as a newborn kitten in it's mother's mouth. The Beast passed one window that was still lighted.

"Whoa! What was that?" The teenage girl asked her parents. They shook their heads.

"Don't worry about it dear. What ever it is, the Teen Titans will take care of it." Her mother assured her.

The Beast continued to run. He didn't know where he was going, but he was getting so tired. His legs ached from the effort of keeping up his speed, and his jaws ached from even Raven's slight weight. He had to get to somewhere safe where he could set her down. She had to be safe, that was the only thing that mattered. He had to keep her safe, and stop those other people from taking her away. He growled at the thought and tightened his grip on her cape. No, he wouldn't let that happen, he wouldn't let them take her.

He finally arrived in the park next to the ocean where the Titans often went for a day of rest. The Beast didn't know this of course. All that interested him was a small deserted clearing in the woodsy area of the park. He almost stumbled a few times getting there, just managing to catch himself each time. He was so tired. And Beast Boy was fighting him, trying to regain control. The Beast growled and mashed the annoying boy down. He was in charge now, not the boy.

The Beast finally reached the clearing. He set Raven down gently, and curled up next to her as he watched her. She seemed to be okay. Her eyes were closed and she was floating gently, a few inches off the ground. The Beast didn't know why she was doing that, but something from Beast Boy's mind told him that it was okay, it was helping Raven, so he didn't worry. But he did worry about those people catching up. He raised his nose and sniffed, but didn't smell anything, so he laid his head back down and continued watching Raven.

What the Beast didn't know was that the Titans were coming up from behind him, downwind so to speak so as not to alert him. But when he heard them enter the clearing, the Beast's head shot up and he growled at them.

"Now, Starfire!" Robin yelled. Starfire shot down from above and scooped up Raven, landing in front of the Titans. The Beast roared, and paced back in forth in front of them, but didn't dare attack. He howled and roared through. Suddenly his pitiful howls woke Raven, who began trying to fight her way out of Starfire's arms.

"Put me down!" She yelled, her hood falling back and revealing that her eyes were wide and frightened, locked on the Beast.

"It's okay, Raven, it's okay!" Robin yelled. "We got you, don't worry."

"You don't understand!" Raven finally freed herself from Starfire. "Beast Boy's trapped inside! He can't get out, he can't regain control! I have to help him."

"How?" Robin asked. But Raven didn't answer him, just turned on her back on him and faced the Beast. To everyone's surprise, she raised her voice and began to sing in a voice that was surprisingly beautiful.

_Lay down_

_Your sweet and weary head_

_Night is falling_

_You have come to journey's end_

The Beast stopped dead and began to howl and paw at it's ears, almost like the song was hurting it.

_Sleep now_

_Dream-of the ones who came before_

_They are calling_

_From across a distant shore_

Raven started to walk closer, continuing to sing.

_Why do you weep? _

_What are these tears upon your face?_

_Soon you will see_

_All of your fears will pass away_

To everyone's amazement, the Beast fell to the ground, writhing in pain, then seemed to collapse into unconsciousness.

_Safe in my arms_

_You're only sleeping_

Raven knelt by it's head and began to gently stroke it's fur as she sang.

_What can you see_

_On the horizon?_

_Why do the white gulls cry_

Then the Beast shook and began to shrink, turning back into Beast Boy.

_Across the seas_

_A pale moon rises_

_The ships have come _

_To carry you home_

He was unconscious, but slowly began to wake up as Raven sang.

_And all will turn to silver glass_

_A light on the water_

_All souls pass_

He stirred, then wrapped his arms around Raven's waist.

_Hope fades_

_Into the world of night_

_Through shadows falling_

_Out of memory and time_

A very small smile appeared on Raven's face as she ran her fingers through his hair.

_Don't say_

_We have come now to the end_

_White shores are calling_

_You and I will meet again_

Beast Boy started to stir again, then slowly opened his eyes.

_And you'll be here in my arms_

_Just sleeping_

Raven didn't stop singing as Beast Boy slowly sat up, and knelt in front of her, their knees touching, his arms still around her.

_What can you see_

_On the horizon?_

_Why do the white gulls call?_

A small smile, almost identical to Raven's, began to spread across Beast Boy's face, then he opened his mouth and his voice joined Raven's in the song.

_Across the sea_

_A pale moon rises_

_The ships have come_

_To carry you home_

Raven reached out to Beast Boy as they neared the end of the song, tears threatening to fall.

_And all will turn to silver glass_

_A light on the water_

_Grey ships pass_

_Into the West_

As they finished the song, Raven collapsed into Beast Boy's ready arms, silent tears running down her face. Beast Boy held her close, resting his chin on top of her hair as he slowly rocked her.

"It's okay." He whispered, his voice low and a little hoarse.

"I almost lost you." Raven whispered, rasing her face from his chest and staring deep into Beast Boy's eyes. "I could hear you inside the Beast's mind, screaming for me, begging for me to help you, and I couldn't reach you."

"But you did, Raven." Beast Boy reminded her with a gentle smile. "You used my mothers song to reach me and save me. As long as we have that song, you'll never lose me, no matter how much control the Beast gains." Beast Boy suddenly gulped nervously and leaned in close to Raven's ear. "No matter how much control the Beast gets when he come out, I will always love you and come back to you. I promise."

Raven pulled back with a gasp and looked at Beast Boy with wide eyes. But when she saw the truth and love in his eyes, she couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face.

"Oh, Garfield." She whispered back, throwing her arms around him. Gar held her close, closing his eyes and breathing in her scent. Raven finally pulled back to smile at him, and Gar smiled back, reaching up to cup her cheek. Raven suddenly found herself drowning in his beautiful eyes, and Gar's gaze was locked on to Raven's wide eyes.. He slowly caressed her delicate features. Her skin was warm and soft to his touch.

"You are so beautiful Raven." He breathed softly.

Gar bent forward to kiss her, and her lips met his hungrily. For a precious heartbeat, the rest of the world slipped away, and Gar luxuriated in the intoxicating taste and feel of her.

Until a small branch that had started glowing black and floating suddenly exploded. Raven and Gar both jumped, then Gar started laughing, soon joined by Raven's soft giggling.

"They've both lost it." Cyborg declared, crossing his arms over his chest. "They had both completely and totally lost it."

"I agree." Starfire said. Robin had to laugh when Beast Boy and Raven both jumped at least a foot in the air at the sound of their two teammates voices. They looked at their teammates, both of them blushing furiously, and a tree behind Raven began to glow black.

"Come on you two!" Robin yelled, trying to lessen Raven's embarrassment so that they wouldn't all pulling splinters out of their skin until four in the morning. "Let's get home."

"Yeah." Gar agreed, standing up and pulling Raven to her feet. "Let's go home."

"I like the sound of that." Raven said with a smile of her own. "Home."

"Home." Robin agreed, walking up to his two friends and throwing his arms around both of their shoulders.

"Home." Cyborg said with a grin, giving Beast Boy and Raven a thumbs up.

"Home!" Starfire cheered.

"Home." Raven repeated, smiling at all of her friends.

"Home." Beast Boy said with a grin of his own, reaching out and taking Raven's hand which he squeezed gently.

THE END


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